Monday, May 01, 2006

Interesting Food for Thought with Which to Pepper Your Day (Puns Painfully Intended) from Vegan Freak

"The world only goes forward because of those who oppose it." -- Goethe

"As consumers, we possess an impressive repressive machinery that has its roots in the way that we're raised in capitalist, Western culture. Meat-eaters or not, we generally don't think much about where anything we consume comes from. Those who produce what we consume generally benefit greatly from this willful ignorance. Ultimately, this means that those who are directly involved in production can generally toil away in horrid conditions (and the more horrid the conditions, the lower the price) to make cheap shit that we can buy at WalMart. Our cheap sneakers come at the cost of exploiting labor somewhere down the line. Similarly, our cheap meat, eggs, and dairy come not only from exploiting animals, but also exploiting and dehumanizing the people that are involved in the production of these commodities[...] The point here is that in capitalist cultures, we're acculturated to see only things and not see the relationships that went into producing those things. This applies to our food as readily as it does to any other product." (64-65)

"[I]t is worth noting that "liberals" or "leftists" can be generally accepting of vegans, but often, they'll give you lip about animal rights because they think that you're not "putting people first." This is complete bunk, because often these people aren't even putting people first themselves, and on top of it all, there's nothing that says that one cannot simultaneously fight against the exploitation of both human and non-human animals." (76)

"Just like the kids who want Santa to be real, many meat-eaters will deny the truth when you tell them. Frequently, meat-eaters will go to real lengths to ensure you don't destroy the fragile but deep-seeded fiction for them. This will often include marginalizing, belittling, and berating you, as well as making you seem like, well, a vegan freak. If they can assure themselves there's something wrong with you then they can assure themselves there's something wrong with your facts and your arguments too, and conveniently ignore you." (65)